There I was, doing research to find the best rose for a thumbnail photo for our July thread and finding that the likeliest ones had already been used in past years, when I noticed that the latest photo added to our database was of Orpheline de Juillet -- July's Orphan or Orphan of July.

I don't know the story behind the name, but my mind immediately jumps to thoughts of revolution when I think of France and July. France's third revolution, the one known as the July Revolution, took place just a few years before this rose was first mentioned in a catalog in 1836, and in the first French revolution, the big one in 1789, the Bastille was stormed on July 14th, and that day is still celebrated as Bastille Day every year. So that's my explanation of the name. Any revolution is going to result in orphans, right?

My favorite photo of Orpheline de Juillet is this one taken by Tabby. Tabby had the knack of taking pictures of her roses just when they were at the peak of perfection. We haven't seen her in the rose forum for five or six years, but she certainly added some magnificent photos to our database.

I've only seen this rose once. It was a bit past the perfection you see in this photo, but it was nonetheless breathtaking. I long ago got over grieving the fact that I cannot grow Gallicas . . . but this photo could awaken that.
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While on the theme of the French Revolution, I'd like to slip this in . . .

The rose I posted yesterday, 'Eugène de Beauharnais' (Int. 1838) was named for Prince Eugène de Beauharnais, (Eugène de Beauharnais) French Prince, Prince of Venice, Grand Duke of Frankfurt, Duke of Leuchtenberg, Prince of Eichstätt --- the first child and only son of Alexandre de Beauharnais and Joséphine Tascher de la Pagerie, first wife of Napoleon I. His father lost his life in The Terror ... his mother went on to become the first wife of Napoleon Bonaparte.

He was apparently quite an able general, AND an amateur botanist of some note. And he must have inspired some love, since his rose was introduced in 1838, long after his death at age 42, in 1824.

Gallicas don't perform well even in zone 9, but I still nurse them along, dumping trays of ice cubes onto the soil around them in winter. Cardinal de Richelieu has responded especially well to this treatment and seems to grow and bloom as well here as it would in a colder zone.

After seeing the movie "Desiree" as a child, I developed a lifelong fascination with Napoleon and Josephine, whom I still picture as Marlon Brando and Merle Oberon.

I often covet certain Gallicas, but I don't know that I am sufficiently infatuated to ice them down in the winter. However if one were to so motivate me, Opheline de Juillet would be the one!

@jerijen, Jeri ....

Your comment about 'Eugene de Beauharnais' above would be perfect to put in the comments section on the rose page ... oh, and your photo from yesterday, too.

Here is a link to the rose page in the NGA database:

Rose (Rosa 'Eugene de Beauharnais')

Submitting a photo for the database is just as easy as including a photo in a post. It works the same way as HMF, so I don't think you will have any problems.

When you open the rose page, you can drop down below the plant characteristics data and there is a section for ADDING ACTIONS. One of them is to POST A COMMENT.

For this comment, I suggest you just copy and paste what you have written above so that you don't have to type it twice ...

That's a beauty! I don't have very many OGRs.

It's gettin' HOT here. Been a really mild spring-into-summer tho. I feel so bad, with my sciatica continuing to be worse and worse, I can't get out and work in the yard right now. I have sooo much deadheading and weeding to do. And my husband needs to get out and help me get all the walnut and oak trees dug out that the squirrels have planted over the yrs. One walnut tree is growing a foot daily it seems!! Oh well, I can only do what I can only do right now. I manage to water and get some photos. And tend to the chickies. One of which is sick right now. She's my second one in a few months to get eggbound. Poor baby. She finally started eating today a little. Good thing it's the watermelon she's eating, because I've had to force water into her. The other one drank water the whole the time.

This is my girl Gertie. She's an Easter Egger, and quite a little character. She makes some funny sounds and she loves to hide under the curtain in the coop. I'm so glad she's felling a little better.


Here's a few roses from this morning....
DAILY SKETCH


DRONNING INGRID


My first real bloom on E VAYRAT HERMANOS! It was loaded with buds in early spring, but they all got botrytis and powdery mildew from the cold and rain, and then they turned brown and just fell off.


EYES ON ME


FREDERICK MISTRAL


MITSOUKO


PERFUMERY


PILAR LANDECHO


ROSE DES CISTERCIENS


THE MAYFLOWER

I think I did it right.

Yes, you did, Jeri. In fact, you did it twice. Your first 10 images have to be approved, so you probably thought it hadn't registered when you added the second proposal.

Poor, poor Gertie. She's adorable.

What a lovely rose parade! I've never seen Perfumery before and I love it. Some of those South African roses are irresistible.

E. Veyrat Hermanos has to be the most frustrating rose alive. Mine is a huge monster that produces hundreds of hundreds of useless buds, ruined by rain, in its first flush. Subsequent flushes usually are ruined by the heat. If all of those buds were to open, it would be a magnificent sight, but ....

Your Pilar Landecho photo is perfect!

jerijen said:I think I did it right.

• Rose (Rosa 'Eugene de Beauharnais')
• By jerijen

Perfect, Jeri ...

I am glad you went for it ...

Orpheline de juliet is my favorite rose. Here's a picture of mine.

That's beautiful, Alana8aSC.

The only French themed rose I have is 'French Lace' with its creamy blooms in the center of this collage of color.

Mike, that is a great picture of a wealth of roses!

Mike! It's been dog's years! How are you? What have you been up to?

Mike!!
Nice to see a post from you again, and a gorgeous shot too!

What a nice welcome back! What began as a hiatus after badly injuring my left hand (which kept me from typing and gardening in 2015) led to an extended absence, and for that I am sorry for being away so long. Although my hand healed nicely (although somewhat imperfectly), my 2016 garden season was eclipsed by my mother's diagnosis of pancreatic cancer, and I barely touched the garden while I cared for her before her passing. Then some additional family issues, like getting my father moved into a new adult community, kept me out of the garden most of last year. But finally some degree of normalcy has returned this year, and I'm able to resume my passion for roses, perennials, vines, shrubs, ornamental grasses, and the occasional annual. This year's gardens are looking pretty good as we had much rain during the spring, so here are a few views...

I'm so sorry for your loss! I am sure I am not the only one who missed your lovely garden pictures during your absence, but it looks as though you have recreated a garden wonderland. Beautiful!

Gorgeous photos and garden, Mike! Life has a way of throwing curveballs at us sometimes. I'm glad things are getting back to normal now.

Mike, I'm so sorry to hear about your mother, but so glad that you're back.

The photos of your "new" garden are wonderful. I remember the start of it four years ago. I looked for the thread you created when you moved and found it here:

The thread "New home and new gardens!" in Roses forum

The thread is well worth perusing for our new members and revisiting for our old members. It has photos of Mike's "new" and "old" gardens and some interesting discussions. This post from that thread, in particular, is quite useful as a guide to shade-tolerant roses.

https://garden.org/thread/view...